I read a sensationalist news story this morning about giant Afghan spiders waging war on overseas troops in war-torn Kabul. Soldiers revealed they are on constant look-out for camel spiders which can grow up to six inches long. As you can see, the creatures are rather delicate. One stomp from a reinforced boot would squash the threat—that is if the spider would hold still long enough.Although they are not venomous, their bites contain bacteria that can infect humans.

In 2012 a news report told of a soldier who almost lost his leg after being bitten while on patrol. He only recovered after three years, during which he underwent 17 operations. A horror film came out last year about camel spiders, which would be enough to set any soldier quivering from their prone position. I'll bet they'd rather look at the ground beneath them than along the site of their rifle.

Wikipedia says: The Solifugae are an order of animals in the class Arachnida known variously as camel spiders, wind scorpions, sun spiders, or solifuges. The order includes more than 1,000 described species in about 153 genera.

www.camelspiders.org

The large, tan and hairy camel spiders live in dry, desert climates, have powerful fangs, a segmented abdomen, and can run up to 10 miles per hour. I've never had a morbid fear of spiders or any insect. I grew up in Australia in the 1940s and often came in contact with deadly spiders like the funnel web and the black widow in the outside toilet. My sisters and I would always go together to watch out for each other. Spiders don't go out of their way to bite you and only attack if they threatened by a large human about to sit on them.Do spiders send you squealing for the safety of the nearest chair?

I can't say that I have a fear of spiders. I never really act when I spot one.

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Bill Bartlett

7/12/2014 10:17:26 pm

My older young son, James, fears and hates bugs of all types and sizes. On a Scout camping trip, he asked me to accompany him to the restroom. I opened the door and found the prettiest little lizard trapped in the corner. It was a glossy black with a bright orange blaze on each side. "James, that isn't a bug. It's a lizard." He screamed, turned on his heel and ran back to camp, waving his arms above his head and screaming the entire hundred yards. Sometimes, the demand for courage exceeds our reserves. ;-)

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Bill Bartlett

7/12/2014 11:44:45 pm

When we moved last summer, our new home was not vacant. A large spider, about the size of an American quarter, lived between the glass and the screen of the window overlooking our kitchen basin. She made the most lovely gossamer web wherein the individual strands weren't visible. Instead, she spun a web that looked like sheets of fog, crafted into a long tunnel. The upper reaches extended almost the entire width of the window and it reminded me of a tornado, descending from the clouds. I dubbed her Renfield, after the character in Dracula and watched her with increasing anxiety as the winter progressed. The days got colder as the polar vortex camped over the central US and one day, she stopped coming out. I can't open the window enough to clean out her web, though, and I think of her every time I see it.

I am not afraid of spiders, and usually tolerate spider webs in the corners of my house. I am a lot more frightened of deer ticks - we are having an increasing problem with Lyme Disease where I live in upstate New York. And those ticks are so small you can barely see them.

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Francene Stanley:﻿Author﻿I use news items in my fantasy novels.

Born in Australia, I moved to Britain half way through my long life. If you like my writing, why not consider purchasing one of my books on the sidebar below?I blogged 260 days last year. Link.